Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Korneliya Ninova commented in a Sunday interview for bTV Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visit to Bulgaria on July 6. According to Ninova, Bulgaria President Rumen Radev got humiliated by the event, as he was notified too late and then ordered by Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov to meet with Zelenskyy.
According to Ninova, Radev does not have a single position on Ukraine but two, which show him both as a war hawk and a peace dove, depending on his audience. Ninova quoted the President from the NATO summit in Madrid as saying: "Russia is a threat and an aggressor. We will continue and further strengthen political and practical support for Ukraine, which is fighting for its sovereignty and independence". When he was in Warsaw in October 2022, he called Russia "a most significant and direct threat to us", and during a visit in Greece he stated: "Regardless of any sensitivity to Russia's role in our history that may still exist in parts of our society, Bulgaria condemns in the strongest terms Russia's illegal war".
On the other hand, Radev refrained from using the term "war" in his statement on Saturday, instead choosing "conflict". Ninova explained his choice of words with him being watched by both Bulgarians, who allegedly have pro-Russian attitudes, and the West, which supports Ukraine. She concluded: "You cannot mate a peace dove with a war hawk, as you end up with some sort of sparrow. You must have a clear and consistent position."
Ninova recalled that the BSP is adamantly against providing military aid to Ukraine. She believes that Russia and Ukraine can cease the hostilities through mediation of "the big ones" such as Turkiye.
She spoke about other European countries in terms of their support for Ukraine: "When Zelenskyy visited France, President Macron came out and said, 'We will provide armoured vehicles and tanks.' He [Zelenskyy] went to Germany. The Chancellor came out with him and said, 'We will provide howitzers'. [Our politicians] fold and say, 'Well, we'll see. He asked for everything'. That is why the BSP has an alternative proposal, because we are not here just to criticize them, but to defend Bulgaria and the Bulgarian interest - we want this 'everything' to be presented in the National Assembly and to be public, not secret. We want the public to be informed, otherwise the doubts and fears increase."
Ninova also discussed Bulgaria's Belene NPP, saying: "We lost the chance to have a second nuclear power plant, i.e. to have energy independence, cheaper electricity for the economy and for households. This decision shows the double standards. Why couldn't the Belene nuclear power plant be built in Bulgaria without Russian support, but it could be built in Ukraine, which is at war with Russia? How could this be done without support from Russia, without Russian nuclear fuel, without Russian experts, engineers, etc.?"
Ninova criticized the European Commission for imposing sanctions, which prevent Bulgaria from importing the parts necessary for the NPP from Russia, while the same sanctions seem to not apply to Ukraine.
/NZ/
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